Abstract Background The Netherlands is receiving increasing numbers of Yemeni refugees due to the ongoing war in Yemen. Since there is a lack of knowledge about access to healthcare by refugees, this study investigates the experiences of Yemeni refugees with the Dutch healthcare system from a health literacy perspective. Methods Qualitative semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted among 13 Yemeni refugees in the Netherlands, to gauge their level of health literacy and investigate their experiences with the Dutch healthcare system. Participants were invited using convenience and snowball sampling. Interviews were done in Arabic and then transcribed and translated ad verbatim to English. Deductive thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed interviews based on the Health Literacy framework. Results The participants knew how to use primary and emergency care, and were aware of health problems related to smoking, physical inactivity, and an unhealthy diet. However, some participants lacked an ...